New cryptocurrency bill seeks to balance cryptocurrency regulations and innovation

On Tuesday, June 7, 2022, US Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand introduced a new, wide-reaching, bi-partisan cryptocurrency bill aimed at increasing federal oversight over the budding and increasingly popular cryptocurrency and digital asset industry.

The bill, entitled the “Responsible Financial Innovation Act,” seeks to make digital assets easier for people to use in their everyday lives. For example, it creates a tax exemption for small-scale purchases of goods and services so that people can use digital currency without having to account for and report income.

If passed, the bill would also grant new powers and a more commanding presence to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) instead of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). SEC chairman Gary Gensler has maintained that most crypto and digital assets qualify and should be treated as securities, like stocks in publicly traded companies. Therefore, it is the SEC’s responsibility to regulate these assets. However, the new proposed bill appears to reject this argument and suggests that most digital assets are much more similar to commodities than securities.

While the CFTC already regulates futures contracts for the two most popular currencies—Bitcoin and Ethereum—the proposed bill would broaden and increase the agency’s power over the crypto market generally. For example, the bill would create a process for crypto trading platforms to register with the CFTC. This change is reminiscent of the passing of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which expanded the CFTC’s role in creating additional regulatory balance.

The bill also seeks to create regulatory clarity for agencies charged with supervising digital asset markets, which is sorely needed in this rapidly growing industry. To establish that clarity, it proposes a regulatory framework that, according to Senator Gillibrand, aims to spur innovation, develop clear standards, define appropriate jurisdictional boundaries and protect consumers. To assist with that purpose, the bill also proposes the creation of an advisory committee comprised of various stakeholders, including regulators, industry experts and advocacy groups. The committee would be responsible for making recommendations based on new developments in the industry so that regulations remain relevant and effective.

The bill may be just what the crypto industry has been looking for. The industry cannot seem to move forward without adequate guidance on the regulations that apply to cryptocurrencies and digital assets. The bill appears to try to balance appropriate regulation while not stifling innovation.

Read the full text of the new cryptocurrency bill.